MegaMan Battle Network: UnderCover Shadow
by NotJim
Summary: Two years after Nebula is defeated, a topsecret NetSavior comes to fill in a last gap. Of course, intense challenges await him... THIS STORY IS BEING COMPLETELY REWRITTEN
1. Project Gamma

**Chapter 1: Project Gamma**

Disclaimer: Gabcom, er, Capcom owns MegaMan et. al. I only own this story.

Well, I thought I'd write a story after reading so many good ones… Hope this one doesn't turn out so badly.

"Dr. Hikari, are you sure this is a good time to re-initiate Project Gamma?"

"Famous, I'm sure it is."

This conversation took place outside SciLab on a busy afternoon, in the recently built café that also supported NetNavis. Busy kitchen staff, being encouraged and/or prodded forward by Nanako, were working tirelessly to deliver good afternoon tea for the scientists. The same also took place in the cyberworld.

It had been a couple of months since the Darkloids were defeated, at least until the meantime, and Lan, Maylu, Dex, Yai and Tory were in the eighth grade at ACDC High.

On one side of a coffee table Yuuichiro was gesturing rather aggressively to a rather sceptical Mr. Famous and two other Scilab scientists, sitting on either side of him, were listening intently to the conversation.

"But. Yuuichiro, remember what happened to Ciel? How she was captured and manipulated by the Darkloids? It was sheer luck that Zero was able to save her…"

"Nononono, what I'm saying here is that there is an operator out there who is smart, cunning, resourceful, determined enough, and living in the correct environment, and therefore is able to maintain the highest level of security, that is, Level 24 security. The…"

Famous interrupted. "But his/her parents would need to know, which would break Rule 2.2 of the NetSavior's Laws, and therefore would compromise our security…"

"No! What I was going to say is that absolutely no-one would even have a shadow of a suspicion that he would be _the_ UnderCover NetSavior."

"Well then, who is this?"

"Follow me."

Back in SciLab, a top-secret meeting…

"Ok, first things first. What is even the purpose of having a Level 24 NetSavior? Ever since Nebula, and after the Darkloids ravaged the Net, security has been pretty impregnable not only around here, but also around the world."

"Famous, we _do_ need a top-secret plan at all times, now that Tora and KingMan have revealed themselves and discarded Level 23 security." Without waiting for a reply, Dr. Hikari filed through some filing cabinets and pulled out a two-inch binder.

"Now, the only beings that know about this so far, are you guys – Yuuichiro pointed to the dozen scientists gathered around – Rush – at that moment, Rush materialized out of nowhere and happily leaped on the nearest cushion – and your Navis, of course."

"Ever since NetTerroism has existed, largely by World Three, Gospel, Neo-World Three, the Dark Chip Syndicate, Nebula, and the Neo-Dark Chip Syndicate better known as the Darkloids, we, Scilab, have had to continually scurry forth many talented NetBattlers like my son, Eugene Chaud, Maylu Sakurai, among many others. They have helped enormously in maintaining peace around the world."

Rush barked in agreement.

"But what about Laik…"

"Him too." Yuuichiro interrupted. "Now, as we all know, the Darkloids struck approximately a year ago, whose forces were led by ShadeMan, and had been stopped nearly four months ago from today. In light of the increasing NetCrime preceding those events, we decided to create an upgraded security level, reserved for one, single, very talented NetBattler, mingled among the general population. This individual, of course, was Aragoma Toraichi, better known as Tora, and his NetNavi, KingMan. They struck during Operation Pi, where they succeeded in causing massive amounts of damage to the Darkloid base, accompanied by ShadowMan."

"The level of their data, however, was only level 23. In Level 24, as we all know too well, we created a customized Navi with no NetOp, named Ciel. She was meant to be the perfect spy, having no known contacts except the people in this room."

"However, this failed miserably, after one of the Darkloids, BubbleMan, noticed her and sealed off the Network, then captured and manipulated her to work against us. It was only due to some brave efforts by Zero that she was able to be saved."

A random hand flew into the air.

"Parsons?"

"Why the hell are you tellin' us all this shit already?"

"Okay, I'll get to the point now."

"What I am about to propose is that we start off by selecting the perfect NetOp." All scientists who weren't near Famous and Yuuichiro during the afternoon raised their eyebrows. This person…"

"…is smart, cunning, resourceful, determined enough, and living in the correct environment, and therefore is able to maintain the highest level of security, that is, Level 24 security." Famous interrupted. "Here is a mugshot of that kid."

The enormous plasma screen in front of them suddenly drew up a picture of a kid, not much older than Lan and not much younger than either Chaud, Tora or Laika.

"Name: James Li.  
Hair Colour: Black.  
Eye Colour: Black.  
Very marginally chubby facial and bodily features.  
Age: As of today, 14 years and 5 months.  
Origin: Born in Yumland, but raised in Australia. He is currently residing in Australia.  
NetNavi: A standard, off-the-shelf Navi named Façade.EXE.  
Both NetNavi and NetOp have hidden their characteristics of being smart, cunning and resourceful for quite some time. They each believe that it is good to "show weakness to hide their strength." (A/N: A cookie to anyone who can tell me where I got that from.) Hobbies: Soccer, basketball, chess, reverse-engineering ancient operating systems like "Windows", and, of course, NetBattling.  
Has many ultra-rare chips that he has stashed over the years, but never shown to anyone. One example is… a Balance ! Wow! Hey, this is also interesting: he knows Tora personally and is good friends with him. That could actually be useful."

"Famous, I assume those are just the more important details regarding James?"

"Yep."

"Famous, I have a question."

"Yuuichiro, please proceed."

"This James Li you talk about will need a customized Navi soon. Have any ideas for that?"

Yuuichiro blushed slightly. "I haven't actually thought of that yet. We don't know if he'll actually even accept our invitation yet. But, according to the rest of this data… he most likely will."

"As of today, file #09473 will be placed under Level 24 security, at 8:30pm, Wednesday, 2nd April, 203X. Any objections?"

There was none, so the file was carefully scanned, then filed away in a top-secret cabinet.

"Well now, shall we send that email to him?"

Sigh… At last! The week is over! Okay, when's the next bus coming…? In 20 minutes. That's fine. I guess I'll talk to Façade now.

"Façade! Next bus is coming in 20 mins. Should we wander around?"

"Yeah, sure." mumbled a deceptively uncheerful voice from my hip. Façade and I have been keeping a low profile ever since I was 10. It's not like we ever trusted anyone, really. Reverse-engineering those ancient operating systems from my grandfather's shed filled in some of my dull moments of solitude.

"Ok, see all of ya later. Yeah, whatever." I suppressed a laugh as I finally boarded the bus and waited for the weekend to arrive as the bus slowly prodded back home.

"Hey man."

"Davy! How about a NetBattle, since you like it so much now!" I said in a sarcastically cheerful voice. "Just kidding." I replied quickly, as he swelled up like a balloon. Ever since Davy got his NetNavi, JunkMan, from scrap data he found while scrounging around the Yumland Net, where the cyber-garbage tip was, he's been as arrogant as ever, winning all the battles he's been in. Like he couldn't get any worse than that _chaud_ guy or whatever who's the world top netbattler or somethin'.

"You ready, Davy?"

"I'll pulverise you!" chanted Davy and JunkMan in unison. Now that was the scary part about them. Because, you see, JunkMan seemed to have a sort of… what's the word… unison! That's it! - with another NetNavi – or somethin'. With who, I have no idea. Either way, it seemed to pass on to the operator.

"Battle routine set!"

"Execute!"

The funny thing is, there's been this NetBattling ban, you see, that's been on and off for quite a while. Currently it's lifted; I don't know when the fuck they're going to put it back on though! Who knows.

"Eat crap, James! Double M-Cannon, download!"

"Yeah, right. Guard, download!"

The two M-Cannons bounced harmlessly off the shield and sent shockwaves that slammed onto JunkMan.

"Grah! That's it! Junk Flow! Nuts and Bolts!"

Uh-oh. This was the annoying thing about fighting JunkMan. You had to dodge – this – annoying – rubbish – constantly – flowing – from – him! Phew.

"Okay! AirHoc1, triple download!"

As I sais those words, I watched the hockey pucks merge into a single, powerful blue puck.

"Pithoky1!"

The powerful hockey rebounded over and over again, dealing tremendous amounts of damage to JunkMan.

"Long Arm!"

"Dodge this, Façade! Quic- Ow." Man, that's gotta hurt.

"Dynawave, download!"

"MegaManV2, download!"

As Façade sent forth a powerful shockwave with a pickaxe, MegaMan appeared and sent buster shots raining in my area.

"Owowowowowow!"

Okay, time for desperate measures.

"Hey, JunkMan, come out from that heap of junk and fight like a man!"

"Fine then James. Let's end this with a LifeSword duel!"

"Bring it on!"

"Sword, WideSword, LongSword, download!"

Both Navis' arms transformed into a large sword.

"LifeSword!"

JunkMan came forward, which was a rare sight, and Façade came forward too. Both swiped with their gigantic swords, forcing each other to logout.

_FAÇADE.EXE LOGGING OUT_

_JUNKMAN.EXE LOGGING OUT_

"Nice battle Davy! Oh, my stop is coming close now. We'd better stop,"

"Seriously though, I think you can battle heaps better than that."

I chuckled to myself at the irony of that comment.

"Here, have this chip. You'll need it," he added, as he gave me a chip with his navi data attached.

"Huh? Isn't this just a souped-up Poltrgst?"

"Still, it'll come in useful, you'll never know. Oh, yeah, and you think you're so good? Well guess what? You're not!"

Why does he always HAVE to say that? I pondered about that question as I walked the next five minutes back home.

"Well, we've arrived back home. What next, Façade?"

"James! You got mail! …"

"What is it?…"

Meanwhile, outside SciLab1, Bass was smashing through the firewalls of the security system.

"Impudent humans… How dare they hide it… They will pay!" Bass muttered to himself, as he looked for what he wanted, deleting Navis and programs as he went…

Please review, because reviews are the writer's drug! (That's the impression I get around here.)

Not sure when the next update will be up. Maybe in a few days, maybe in a few weeks.


	2. Absorption

Yay! One review! Thank you Arak Blazer. This chapter I made in a slight rush.

**Chapter 2: Absorption**

Disclaimer: Capcom owns MegaMan et. al. I only own this story.

Saturday morning, in a certain area of ACDC Town, DenCity, – Electopia, passes slowly, especially in the Hikari residence. A certain Lan Hikari, in particular, had trouble getting up, especially since quite an important meeting was due in some time.

"LAN! GET – UP!" bellowed MegaMan for the umpteenth time that morning. In any case, _nothing_ now could distract Lan from oversleeping, ever since MegaMan had run out of ideas, spanning a record 6 years, for waking Lan up. These devices were either immune to Lan, were too destructive, or caused Lan to take out MegaMan's batteries for the rest of the day.

"Lan. LAN! WE – HAVE – AN – IM – PORT – TANT – ME – TING TO – DAY!"

"Ungh… Oh Maylu… Maylu… Uh, MegaMan, What did you say?"

"Err… rightio. Were you just dreaming about May…"

"Eh, shut up MegaMan! I remember that there was something on today, but…"

"WE HAVE AN IMPORTANT MEETING REGARDING THE NETSAVIORS IN TWENTY MINUTES, IN THE ARCHIVES SECTION OF DAD'S LAB! HURRY UP ALREADY!"

"Wha… Ohgodohgodohgodohgod!"

It was quite an amusing sight, MegaMan thought, to watch Lan frantically dress himself up every third morning or so: the previous evening he had been netbattling with Tora, Raoul, and other such people around the world until around 2am that morning.

What really astonished MegaMan was that Lan could take a shower, brush his teeth, AND comb his hair at the same time. How, he would never understand, even though he had helped beat 6 NetTerrorist groups in a row.

"OhmygodMaylu'sgonnakillmeifIamlateandsowillalltheothers…"

"Relax, Lan. Relax!" exclaimed a now slightly anxious MegaMan, who was also afraid he would just collapse under the sheer weight of the task that faced Lan, which was to put on all his clothes at the same time in under a minute. He wasn't even completely dry yet.

"Okay, I'm finally ready, now let's go!" said Lan, who was now practically leaping downstairs.

"…but haven't you forgotten something?" said a fading voice.

"Oh sorry MegaMan!" said Lan, as he rushed back to pick up his P.E.T. and scrambled all the way downstairs. Now he realised, with only five minutes left, and with little breath remaining, that he hadn't had any food since midday yesterday.

"Lan, just take this and RUN!" screamed Haruka.

Lan rollerskated all the way to the MetroLine, where he hurriedly displayed his NetSavior's I.D. He was still very fidgety as he entered the train. When it landed at SciLab station, Lan scrambled all the way up to SciLab, where his peers were patiently waiting for him.

"Hmph. Not bad. You're only four minutes late." growled an impatient voice behind him.

"Chaud!"

"Later, Lan Hikari. We have got a very important – no, make that THREE important issues to discuss."

As Lan entered the top-security room that adjoined his father's lab, the others shifted attention to Mr. Famous, who was about to talk.

"Attention please everyone."

"From yesterday evening, we have had two major events occurring. One good, one bad."

"Start with the bad one. Get it over with, laddie," said Mr. Match, in his recognisable Scottish accent.

"Ok. At approximately 9:30pm yesterday evening, Bass attempted to hack himself into Level 22 security, presumably to access the Code Dolphin Files. He managed to get into Level 20 before the combined efforts of ProtoMan, QuickMan and GateMan managed to stop him. At this point, after analysing his data tracks, we now know that he is now planning to discover..."

Lan suddenly sunk back into his past memories. "I remember now…"

_Flashback_

"Oi, KingMan, would you mind telling ShadowMan to come back? We need some backup here."

"Aragoma, I will."

The Darkloid base was being destroyed. No, annihilated was a more accurate word, as the secret base, previously standing so threateningly and imposingly to anyone who dared enter it, was being blown into oblivion by the Special Forces Unit of Electopia. MegaMan, ProtoMan, Roll, GutsMan, IceMan, SharkMan, WoodMan, SkullMan, among many others, were destroying enemy programs, Navis, and pretty much anything that stood between them and ShadeMan, the solo net-navi and the leader of the Darkloids.

"Guts need some help here, guts."

"Heart Slash!"

"ShadowMan is present." said KingMan to his operator.

"I am here, my friend."

"Hey, ShadowMan, think you can blow up that barrier over there?"

"Not to worry. Triple Team!"

ShadowMan moved at an amazing speed, creating perfect illusionary copies of himself.

"GrassStage battlechip, download!" bellowed a deep voice, as the earth beneath them instantly changed into grass.

"Triple Fire Blast!"

"BigRedWave battlechip, download!" said Lan.

As three fiery fireballs connected with the barrier, a smouldering red wave burnt out what was left of the ruins that were protecting the Darkloid base.

"Hey everyone!" MegaMan shouted. "Over here!"

"I'll scout ahead," announced ProtoMan. "I'll have a look at what's up ahead." Immediately following those words the Red Raider darted inside the final area, ShadeMan's lair.

The group encountered almost no resistance as many Protector towers fell victim to the many tactics from the Electopian forces.

"Checkmate!" KingMan declared, as he hit three towers at the same time, which exploded instantly.

"Lilbomb, CrosBomb, BigBomb, download! Program Advance: UltraBomb!" shouted Maylu, as more defenses crumbled away to the onslaught.

However, deep into ShadeMan's lair, a surprise awaited the group, where Bass and ShadeMan were slugging out a ferocious battle.

"EarthBreaker!"

"Crash Noise!"

"You insolent NetNavi… You really think I can believe you, that I am incomplete? You think that I need that pathetic personality data you speak of, hidden in SciLab?" spat out Bass as he launched forwards black wheels of maths instruction (okay, that was lame).

"Wh-wh-whee! Of course! Just talk to them back there! Wh-wh-whee!"

"Bass!" exclaimed MegaMan.

No-one had expected for him to come out of hiding, least of all in the Darkloid secret base.

"So is this true? A part of myself had been ruptured by PharaohMan? And what has this to do with the destruction of my faithful companion, Gospel, a month or two ago? Did your wretched human operators do it? And what am I to do? These NetSaviors intend to destroy me next! Well..."

"Stop it, Bass. We destroy ShadeMan, then talk. Understood?"

"Understood. Dark Slice!" shouted Bass, who sliced up ShadeMan several times, forcing him to split into different bats.

"SonicBoom!"

"HubBuster!"

"Glyde Cannon!"

"Blizzard!"

"Roll Flash!" Viruses appeared, with the help of Rush, and attacked the bat in the far back of the bunch.

"Guts would like to throw something, guts."

"Sure. DashAtk, Guard, download! MegaMan, get into position!" exclaimed Lan.

"GutsShot!" GutsMan threw MegaMan at incredible speed onto ShadeMan, who screamed, and was blown into bits before he could say anything else.

"Well?" asked Bass.

"Firstly, what would you like to know?" asked Glide, who had flown in.

"Ahem. Now that this base is destroyed, I assume my duties are over-?" said ShadowMan.

"Ah, yes. Here -" Glide handed over a decent sum of Zennys to the ninja navi.

"Thank you very much. Do not hestiate to call upon my services in the future. Dark, I'm logging out.."

"Anyway-?" continued Glide.

"Ah, yes. So what is this 'part' of me that was taken by - you know -"

"During the very first battle you had, many many years ago, even before the Alpha incident, when you lost and had to retreat, your data was intercepted by PharaohMan. During the battle, he used a special ability: he ruptured all possible emotions out of you, leaving you with spite, malice and revenge, with traces of other 'everyday' elements that prevented you from tearing everything up you saw at once." answered ProtoMan.

"Where is this data?" spat Bass.

"Next question."

"Why was Gospel destroyed-"

"I'm afraid that I can't answer that at the moment."

"Damn you! Would you tell those Navis of yours from SciLab to stop chasing me around, so I can piece together what's left! Or I will-"

"It's ok Bass, we've already done that." piped up Roll.

"Until we meet again." said Bass, whowarped backinto the shadows (like he usually does).

"So Bass knows about this already... It cannot be good." muttered Lan.

_End Flashback_

"...so that's how the secret NetSavior's place came into being. You agree. Lan? LAN?" Maylu screamed. Suddenly, out of control, she climbed on the desk, reached over to Lan, and slapped him hard on the face.

"That must hurt." commented Dex, growing a slight red himself.

"Ow! Maylu! STOP KILLING ME!" screamed Lan, who was being watched by the laughing faces of his comrades.

"Ok, ok. I DID hear that last bit about a new NetSavior. I was just thinking about what happened a long time ago."

"So who IS this person?" asked Chaud.

"I'm afraid that I can't say, but you WILL, however, be able to help create a new customized Navi for him. Who wants to help?"

* * *

"Façade, okay, so you sorted out all the contact details for this? Hell, are you even sure this is valid!" I cried. Surely this was too good to be true: my ITGS teacher would immediately dismiss this spam, junk mail, whatever it's called! "James, I've double and triple-checked the mail, checked the data tracks, etc. I've sent a reply, and I've received mail that some agents are coming to town with a curry shop called 'No1 Curry' or something, and you are to meet with them; they know what you look like." 

"You… absolutely… sure?"

"Sigh. Look, jack me in into the computer. I'll get into SciLab Security Level 24 via a secret access code."

"I guess that'll convince me."

"Always the sceptic, are you, James."

"Whatever, Façade. Whatever."

I sprinted across to my computer.

"Jack in, Façade! Execute!"

The familiar green light, laser, beam, whatever, shot across and Façade landed himself into the Australian network, which was packed full and busy this afternoon.

"Hey, Façade! Got time for a chat?"

"Nah, sorry, I'm busy."

Link from NSW 3 into Yumland 2... 1... Past the dump... NetPassport... ACDC 2... Hmm... ACDC 3... Hey, I've never been here before, haven't I? I'll check it out later, I guess.

Anyway, back to ACDC 1... CyberMetroLine... Now where's that ticket that 'Famous' or whatever his name was gave me...

"SciLab, please."

Ok. SciLab 1. Where next? If I do this and this...

"Hey! James! A link opened?"

What's this?

"Okay, James. According to my calculations, this is... SciLab 25. Wow."

I took in the surroundings from my P.E.T. The place appeared fairly barren, with a group of weird customised Navis in one corner, and a few programs, presumably patrolling. One of them even looked straight at me! Wait... that's bad, right?

"SECURITY ALERT! SECURITY ALERT!" that frickin' program beeped.

"Help! James! What am I to do!" Façade said, almost comically.

"Don't attack! He is our new Level 25 Code Calcium!" shouted a deep voice from that Navi group.

"OH-" The program suddenly calmed down and continued as if absolutely nothing had happened. Weird.

"So, you must be Façade?" said one of the larger Navis. "I'm Footman, by way. You ready to rumble?"

"Yeah, I suppose." said Façade.

"Hello. I'm GateMan. This is KendoMan, and this is Punk." said a younger-looking Navi. A few standard Navis had also appeared in the distance."

"So," I said to the customised Navis, "who are your operators?"

"We have the same NetOp," answered KendoMan. Seeing the quizzical look on my face, he added, "Mr. Famous."

That just made me more confused.

"He has even more customised Navis that he made, which are presently not available at the moment."

That didn't really help either.

"Mr. Mejin Famous here. As a top-secret NetSavior, you may refer to me as just Famous. Understood?" said a voice.

"Okay, Famous."

"How long have you got?"

"Two hours, minimum. Maybe two and a half. Or three."

"Okay. Your..."

* * *

"…thirst for knowledge… stronger… face my judgement… wrath… …"

* * *

Anyone, ANYONE out there, please review. 


	3. First Task

OMFG, I finally updated!

And thank you Vulpix1000 and ClampLover for the reviews!

**Chapter 3: First Task**

Disclaimer: Capcom owns MegaMan et. al. I only own this story.

* * *

"It is time… for me… to discover… the truth… I want nothing but the clear, cold, dark truth…"

* * *

School starts again… It's like, something that you can completely predict… over and over again… Luckily for me though, there's something for me at the end of all this!… I think…

"Davy!"

"JunkMan!"

"Hey." both replied.

"Wanna talk to everyone else? There's 15 minutes until roll call starts." I answered.

"Sure."

Now to Tech Block…

"Hey, James, you want to have a NetBattle with me?" Damn, it's that fatass Kye again. Never mind, let's smash him, then wait for WoodTech to start.

"Battle – start!"

"Let's go!" shouted Façade, as he shot a couple of buster shots at Kye's completely standard NetNavi. At least I made a couple of changes to mine.

"CrossGun, download."

"Guard BattleChip, download." The exploding shot bounced harmlessly off the shield and sent a shockwave forward.

"StepCross, download!" Façade stepped forward and performed a blindingly fast cross slash, then returned to his original position.

"Where'd you get that chip? I want it!" said Kye, after downloading three Spreader chips. "Program Advance: Hyper Burst!"

"Too bad; you're not getting it. Shadow1, download." As quickly as the exploding shots appeared, Façade blackened into a shadow and the bursts harmlessly passed through him.

"Blaster2, download!"

"CrsShld1, download!"

An explosion was sent towards the opponent, but just as it hit, a Dominerd appeared in the front and chomped at Façade.

"Ow."

"Let's end this quickly. Triple Hi-Cannon, download! Program Advance: GigaCan2!" A powerful cannon appeared in front of Façade, which blasted the opposition to oblivion.

_NORMLNAVI #0684695 LOGGING OUT_

"Huh? Doesn't your Navi have an actual name?"

"Actually, it does. I never got to update it 'officially'."

"Yeah, that list is a complete joke." I commented. "Anyway, I wonder when our teacher will arrive. Now what was her name again..."

"I'm sorry, but school has been cancelled today," said a female voice right behind me. "We will take the roll, then we will organize methods of transport to take you home, et cetera."

"Why?"

"Don't know actually." she frowned. "Usually, isn't there an assembly of some sort to sort out and explain these matters?"

"Yeah." chimed in a voice ahead of me.

As soon as my name was called out, I called my dad to pick me up.

"Hey... Dad... Listen, school has been cancelled today. Yes, you'll have to talk to my teacher about it... Ok, it's all good... What! Hang on. It's ok. Pick me up from the front of the school in half an hour, alright? Thanks. See ya then."

"Let's go Façade. It looks like... this might be our first task." I whispered.

_FAÇADE LOGGING OUT_

* * *

"Dr. Hikari. Request to access File #09473, Code Calcium."

"Dr. Parsons. Request granted."

"Dr. Hikari. Request to access File #09473, Code Calcium."

"Lan Hikari. Request denied."

"DAD! DAD!" shouted Lan. "Why can't I access the information on the new and final NetSavior?"

"Yeah, same here!" added Dex. Dave and Chaud were also confused, as were Masa, Sal and most of all, Miyu.

"I'm sorry. Tell this to everyone else: only a few dozen scientists, their Navis, and Rush are allowed to know his identity. Before anyone could open their mouths, Dr. Hikari added: "And don't even try to get it from anyone."

"Rush..." Lan turned to the Popup virus who had just appeared.

"Grrr..."

"This ain't about any NetSavior." piped up Mr. Match. "We jest need you ter do sum scoutin'."

"Aup!" barked Rush, suddenly cheerful again. A moment later, Rush appeared back outside ACDC, where he sent out Fishys. Rattys, Flappys, etc, anything that was a good scout.

"So, who's actually working on the new NetNavi?" said Lan.

"The Net Agents, us, and a few odds and ends, including Chaud." said Mr. Famous.

"You know, Lan, I'm actually a bit worried about Bass." said Maylu, as the group walked down back to the main entrance.

"Why? If he's deleted, there's another every powerful evil that we don't have to face. Wait..."

"You see, Lan Hikari? If we could – somehow – have _him_ to work for us, then just perhaps somehow, fighting against these rogue NetCriminals would be much simpler... How is another matter entirely…" drifted off a rather intense 'Speedy' Dave, who was obviously thinking about something other than anything relating to netbattling.

"I'll get to the UnderNet. Maybe Zero and Ciel would know something about this – this is what Rush sent me, anyway. Anyone else coming?" said Lan.

"I'll go," said Maylu.

"Me too," added Dex, rather too quickly.

"I will too." said Chaud.

"You all ready? Jack in, MegaMan!"

"Jack in Roll/GutsMan/ProtoMan, power up!"

Four beams of light of varying intensity shot off to the jack-in ports, where they landed in SciLab Square. From there, they travelled to Den Area 3, where they accessed the link to Netopia. Upon entering, however, they found quite a pleasant surprise.

"TurboMan!"

"Ring!"

"Master Lan, you there? Vroom!" called a childish, but all too-familiar voice.

"Kai!" answered Lan.

"Hey Maylu. So... how is it going so far?" giggled Mary, who cuddled up with her boyfriend of six months.

"Both of you doing well?" said QuickMan.

"Really good, yes."

"Tee-hee, they're looking good together. Maybe Lan, we could actually learn something from them..." said Maylu, who was leaning closer to Lan at this point.

"Wh-what are you d-d-doing? G-g-get off me!" shouted Lan, who was wriggling out of Maylu's tightening grip. GutsMan and Dex looked on, becoming VERY red (though no-one really noticed) and Chaud were exchanging looks and smirking. Dave and QuickMan were looking on emotionlessly, yet thinking about... something.

"Sooo... TurboMan, you managed to get that Charged Sword Rush technique working?" asked MegaMan.

"It worked to perfection, vroom!" said TurboMan.

"Mary, did you receive my email about my next lesson?"

"Yes, I did, actually, Maylu. It was on..."

"Next week, Saturday! Yippee!" interrupted Ring, who was now spinning like crazy.

"Kai wonders what Master Lan and his friends are doing."

"Actually, we were off to the UnderNet to check up on Zero and Ciel. Want to come?"

"Sure, why not? TurboMan, my dear, you coming?" said Ring.

"I'll race you there!"

"Hey, wait up the rest of you!" shouted Roll.

"Guts can't keep up!" said GutsMan.

* * *

Ten minutes... and still nothing. Sigh...

"James, my dad has a meeting and won't be out for another hour."

"Good. That'll buy us some time." I muttered. 'Okay, where else haven't we checked? All the computers, server, toilet blocks, classrooms, cars, lamps, blackboards, everything!"

"Hey, James, you might want to check the heater." Indeed, Façade was right: the heater had stopped working. It usually ran for most of the year, even in the stifling heat of summer.

"Jack in, Façade, Execute!"

Façade landed in the heater network, where an odd emptiness surrounded the area.

"This isn't right. Remember we jacked in at the end of last year?"

"Yeah, and there were programs every few metres. Okay, I'll look around."

"Be careful!"

Up a slope... down a slope... take the S-Slider across the boiling water (A/N: An upgraded version of the C-Slider from MMBN4)... nothing...

"There isn't anything here, Façade. Let's jack out." I said.

"Hang on. Something's not right here."

"You are correct." Suddenly, a red metallic-looking Navi appeared, standing tall and firm, with a stream a fire boiling up from his neck. His logo was an asteroid, which was fixed on his chest. On his shoulders were fixed metallic plates, which were currently red-hot.

"I am MeteorMan. My job is to clean out everything here."

"But... that's... bad? Isn't it?" Façade stuttered.

"This is what my master told me to do. I have nothing personal against you, but... your time is up now."

"Okay, let's fight our way through. Ready to use those new chips & tricks?"

"Battle routine set, execute!"

"Meteor Smash!" MeteorMan's right fist suddenly grew to at least four times its usual size, and slammed into Façade.

"SnglJump battlechip, download!" Façade somehow managed to evade the punch by leaping into the air.

"Okay, let's cool this bitch down! AquaMan, download!" Instantly AquaMan appeared, and produced a water gun, that sprayed into MeteorMan, dousing him.

"Meteors!" A flaming volley of meteors bombarded Façade's area, which left quite large craters as they fell.

"Watch out, Façade!" Façade then tried to dodge the next few attacks, but got hit quite badly a few times. Shit.

"Again! Meteor Thrash!" A huge fist, similar to the one before, only it was flaming, struck right into Façade, who only survived because I downloaded an UnderSht chip earlier.

"Façade! Work harder!"

Finally, the special program worked: suffering a bad burn, Façade nevertheless (or because of it) doubled all his stats instantly, allowing him superior agility, attack, and increased hit points. Temporarily.

"Sword, download!" Façade's right arm transformed into a short sword, and, due to the extra power granted by the special program, it sliced right through MeteorMan's shoulder blade, which disintegrated.

"Let's finish this now! Go forth, my FullFire-"

"COUNTER1!" As soon as MeteorMan leaned back to summon the deadly horde of viruses, Façade immediately struck back, paralysing the enemy.

"Let's get 'em! RockCube, triple download!"

A couple of rockcubes appeared on the battlefield, surrounding MeteorMan, who was now unable to run away. Good.

"Lightning1, download!"

Lightning struck and surged from the rockcubes, allowing electricity to surge through his body, causing severe damage.

"MetalGear1, download! HawkCut1, download!"

Damn these chips rock! A gear appeared from MeteorMan's rear, which smashed right into his back, and Façade performed a wide swipe and a long swipe, which cut right through his middle.

"You haven't seen anything of me yet!" shouted MeteorMan as he started to dissipate.

_METEORMAN LOGGING OUT_

"Anything left behind?"

"Nope. Let's get out of here before anyone notices."

"Agreed."

Phew. Guess I am quite good after all.

_FAÇADE LOGGING OUT_

* * *

"There has been an attack in Australia's Net, close to where James Li is." said Mr. Famous.

"You absolutely sure that he isn't in any danger?" replied Dr. Hikari.

"No, it was just a rogue attack. He did extremely well with the mostly Level 1 chips we gave him."

"Did he? I'll check the Official reports later."

"According to the news, it was said that a 'mystery Navi' deleted the offending Navi."

"And?"

"Nothing else."

"Good. Okay, let's have a break now."

* * *

"I have failed, Master."

"Hmph, MeteorMan. Beaten by a standard NetNavi. Have you any shame?"

"Yes, Master. I will do better next time."

"Whatever." a sinister voice answered. "There were not any real targets in Australia's Net, anyway. We shall strike at... next. You got it?"

"Understood."

* * *

"Now is... the time... I will... avenge... the death of Gospel!" roared a voice from the shadows of the now defunct World Three Area, outside UnderNet 4.

* * *

Anyone else, please review. Next update should be up in approximately a week... or two. Or three. Maybe a month. Okay, definitely not that long. 


	4. Former World Three Comes To Town!

No new reviewers... sigh... if I don't receive any by the next chapter I might need to self-propel myself forward... ah well...

**Chapter 4: (Former) World Three Comes To Town!**

Disclaimer: Capcom owns MegaMan et. al. I only own this story and the characters in it.

* * *

MegaMan and co., led by a speeding TurboMan, raced through the UnderNet, obviously itching to get somewhere. That somewhere in question was UnderSquare, usually inhabited by criminals and other lowlifes. This was the case in the past. 

These days, however, there were more lively Navis, some even from the outer world. Those were greeted more positively than in the past, however, this was hardly the case when referring to a recent happening. Not long ago, the UnderSquare was ravaged by a group of rogue Navis, and even broke through to Secret Area 2 before JapanMan was able to help DarkMan keep them at bay.

"That incident... does this have anything to do with it?" said Maylu.

"No idea. I really hope it doesn't." replied Dex.

"Lan. I forgot to tell you something – the World Three knows about the NetSavior's identity as well." said Dr. Hikari, who had passed by.

"Yes. Anddddd...?"

"I've received mail from Mamoru. He's been saying that Bass may be planning a very strong attack. There haven't been any other details."

"Sure."

Led by QuickMan and TurboMan, the gang sped through the UnderNet, towards UnderNet 1... 2... 1... 3...

"Go on through-"

"And here's the UnderSquare! Zero and Ciel told us to meet here." said MegaMan.

"Welcome. MegaMan and ProtoMan." said Zero.

"Hi Roll!" said Ciel.

"You ready for a long-winded explanation?"

"Get on with it." barked a particularly harsh voice in the shadows.

_A while later_

"Basically, in a nutshell, there's been some rumours of mysterious Navis around here, including what appears to be a much stronger Bass, and you'd better be on your guard." said the reploid swordsman after the meeting.

"TurboMan will look for anything! Vroom!"

"I assume everyone knows what he/she is doing?" asked ProtoMan. Everyone nodded.

"Then off we go."

However, TurboMan had barely set a wheel outside UnderNet 4 when the UnderSquare trembled incredibly, like a strong earthquake in the real world. The Operators felt the impact through their PETs.

"What's happening?" shouted GutsMan.

"Bass..." said a distant sentry's voice outside UnderNet 5.

"Oh come on... surely it can't be that ba... _ohhh... crap_." said Dex.

* * *

Hmmm... No1 Curry... Guess I'll see the rest of the curry gang... 

It was a few streets opposite the mall... yeah... shit... there's a truckload of people outside... I wonder if anyone I know is there...

Shit. Half an hour more. Façade told me so.

"Hey! James!"

_Shit_. Ah well.

"Sarah – how's it going?" _Ignore the sniggers of the rest of 'em,_ I said to myself.

"I'm fine. And you?"

"Been better, been worse." Without waiting for a reply I said: "Sooo... you guys are waiting for it to open?"

"Yeh." said Vijay. Hmm. I almost forgot about him.

"From the looks of it, I bet that this place isn't going to open in around half on hour. At least."

"Yeah, probably. Hey, have you heard about the rumours of a 'final stronger' NetSavior? I heard about this on the DenTech City boards."

"Really? I never knew about that!" Damn. I will be killing myself laughing after a while.

_40 minutes later_

Finally! The restaurant's opened.

"Welcome. Just call me Yahoot for now. I'm terribly sorry for the delay; however, we are now ready."

"Who the hell is he? Some yoga master or something?"

"Actually, he is. I read about it on the _Netbattler's Forum_ the other day."

"Really? Cool. Hey, James, you want to come eat with us?"

"Sure. Hang on though. I've got to get to the toilet."

Hope they don't become suspicious if I leave for too long. Nobody cares about me anyway, so they probably won't notice. _What was that thought? Wait, scratch that._

So here's the staff entrance... Yeah, and...

"Hi! You must be James Lee, yes:

"Its _Li_, whoever you are."

"The name's Madoi, heeheehee." What the hell? Is she a fucking slut? Or...

"Don't worry about her. She's a damned playboy." said this weird-looking blondie with screwed-up hair.

"Woah, your accents are pretty damn good. Even though they're a bit American."

"Hey, we've been there for quite awhile. We've set up successful businesses in Electopia, Jawaii and in America." said that Yahoot type who was there earlier.

"Sooo... I may need a few introductions here...?"

"Ah sorry, laddie! Mah name is Misterr Match." said that red-looking old guy. "This is Madoi, Jack Zap-"

"-but just call me Count Zap for now."

"...and Yahoot."

"You care to meet our Navis?"

"Em, sure." I took out my P.E.T.

"Jack in, Façade!"

Façade made it into the system, to be greeted by some weird-looking Navis.

"I'm FireMan. This is ColorMan – he gestured to this god-awful clown-like Navi – ElecMan – some weird electric bee – and this is MagicMan – some sort of, er, magician."

"Now, I'm assuming you have your friends to go back to, right?"

"Yep."

"Come back after your meal's over. Ok?"

"Sure."

_FAÇADE LOGGING OUT_

_1 hour later_

"Damn! That was good!"

"Yeah, you bet. Whadaya think, James?"

"Em, yeah. Listen, I gotta go now. I'll pay my share of the fee. Ok?"

"Sure."

I handed out a crumpled $20 note before rushing outside and through the back gate.

Actually, it WAS pretty good. But why did they have to be SO GODDAMN EXPENSIVE? 

Well, here's the meeting place. Now where...

"Boo!"

ARRGGHH! Don't sneak up on me behind that!

"Heehee. Now, would you like to come in?"

"Um, yeah, sure."

Damn this place is messy.

"No, no dear, this way."

Hmmm. This is more like it.

"Here. Before we forget – he took out quite a thick volume – take this."

Hmmm. What is this? _'The Ultimate Guide to InterNet NaviGating.'_, by Yuuichiro Hikari. This definitely could prove useful.

"So. You ready to receive some details, me lad?"

Yeah, why not.

"Firstly, some unconfirmed details on your customized NetNavi..."

_1½ hours later_

"Well, that was quite a meeting, I must say!"

Yeah. Damn all that info!

"Chips?"

Check.

"Navi Customizer?"

This thing here? Check.

"Documents?"

Check.

"What are you going to do next?"

Get some licenses.

"Well, that's all the time we got." said Count Zap. "See you!"

I quietly stole out of the restaurant, which was still receiving a whole lot of customers, andcaught the next bus back home, taking care not to even show any of the documents.

* * *

"So, let's go to the Government Complex around here. Remember where it is?" 

"Yep."

"Jack in!"

It didn't take Façade long to get to the Government Server. Neither did it take him long to register for the licenses.

"Ready to take the A license?"

Okay, sure.

"To pass the first test, you must delete 5 sets of viruses in a row. I will replenish your HP before and after the problem. Ready?"

Let's go! Okay, what are these? Just Mettaurs.

"Spreader, double download!"

There they go.

Hmm. Spikeys, Flameys, Volgears...

"DublCrak, download! Geyser, download!"

There they go. More... and more... and more. Okay, that's it. What next?

"I have some info that 'A bad Navi is at the NSW/Victoria cyberborder.' You need repeating?"

Nah. That's fine. Okay. NSW Area... Let's get to the border... Ah! There he is!

"You think you can beat me? Go, viruses, attack!"

Well, just another bunch of viruses. That wasn't too hard. Where did he go? Ah, some random data.

"Congratulations! To pass the third test, you must delete 5 sets of viruses in a row. I will replenish your HP before and after the problem. Ready?"

Great. Another batch. Undoubtedly this will be much more difficult. Okay... let's go.

Uh-oh. Mettaur2s. And a Beetank2.

"StepCros, download!"

TRIPLE DELETE! Yea- Damn.

"BoyBom2, download!"

Ah crap. He's taken quite a bit of a beating. I can't seem to break up these Dominerds and Hardheads and Gaias... I'M NOT DOING ANY DAMAGE TO THEM! SHIT!

"Rockcube, quadruple download! Timebom1, download!"

This isn't going to do anything.

"Lightning1, download!"

That worked against MeteorMan... but nothing happened! Meanwhile, Façade can't move! Crap! This is really bad... I'm nearly out of chips... Ah! That's it! That'll really help!

"JunkMan, download!"

Instantly JunkMan appeared and sent all the objects flying against the viruses, which disintegrated immediately. Façade finished the rest that weren't deleted yet manually.

"Congratulations! And here's your A license!"

Hmmm. Davy was right after all. That chip DID come in useful.

"I'm requesting a test for an S license."

"I'm sorry, but all license tests are currently unavailable at the present."

"Why can't I get the S license right now?"

"The Officials have been telling everyone to jack out. I don't know why myself."

"Okay. Let's go."

_FAÇADE LOGGING OUT_

* * *

"Famous!" 

"Yes?"

"Outbreaks of viruses have been occurring around the world. Laika is currently trying to get to the heart of the issue right now."

"I already know. Lan and the others might have discovered the cause for this."

"What is it?"

* * *

NotJim: Is anyone else alive out there?

(unknown): No.

NotJim: Who the hell are you?

(unknown): The mysterious guy who will appear later in this crappy fic.

NotJim: I resent that! It's not that bad.

(unknown): Anyway, what was I going to say... please review, readers. Help this poor, troubled, disturbed soul.

NotJim: I – AM – NOT!

(unknown): Yes, you are.


	5. Greater Menace, Greater License

_Disclaimer: Capcom owns MegaMan et. al. I only own this story._

_Also, to avoid any confusion, a correction of the disclaimer in Chapter 4: I only own the characters Façade, James and Davy. MegaMan, Lan, etc all belong to Capcom._

Well, seeing as I'm getting the impression that people are reading this but not reviewing, I'll FINALLY get on with it!

* * *

**Chapter 5: Greater Menace, Greater License**

"Bass... I've never seen him this strong before... What power..." mouthed MegaMan. Indeed, Bass was floating ahead of them, looking simply furious, more than ever before, and looking ready to destroy anything in his path.

"I come... not simply to battle... Yes... I wish, once more, to become stronger... however... I am avenging... too..."

With almost no warning, Bass aimed both his air-burst gun and his shooting buster gun and, after charging, let loose a flurry of shots, injuring some Navis and deleting most of the viruses that Rush generated. QuickMan, TurboMan, and Roll simply sped away, GutsMan was able to take the hits without suffering too much damage, Ring deflected the hits with her rings, ProtoMan deflected them with his sonicbooms and MegaMan blocked with his HubShield.

"Hmph. Not bad. But let's see if you can withstand my next attack!" roared Bass, as suddenly and swiftly he equipped both his Dark Arm Blades and swiped right through a pack of Navis, forcing many to log out.

"Ready, all of you?" shouted Lan. "Battle routine, set, execu-" but he was promptly cut off as Bass let off a massive roar and sent a black energy ball slamming right at the entrance, narrowly missing GutsMan's head and smashing the area behind him.

"Sheesh, you'd think he'd allow us to go with the formalities," muttered Lan.

"I would believe he's more interested in... deleting... stuff." answered Chaud in his own blunt manner.

"GutsPnch3, double download!" With exponentially increased fists GutsMan aimed both at Bass, who angrily shoved him off, and was now looking in the opposite direction.

"NorthWind, download!" Roll sent a freezing wind towards Bass that stripped him of his aura. Bass tried to pretend not to notice her, but gave in and fired a few air-burst waves at Roll, who summoned a Mettaur3 to block the attack.

Bass was infuriated.

"Prepare to die!" Bass aimed multiple dark energy wheels in MegaMan and ProtoMan's direction, who were attempting a forked attack with QuickMan and TurboMan in the rear, being the speedy Navis. However, as MegaMan dodged the wheels, Bass once more equipped his dark arm blade and swung several shots at MegaMan/ProtoMan, severely injuring both at the shoulders.

"Damn it!" Chaud hissed. "VariableSword, download! Elemental Slash Wave, now!" ProtoMan equipped the magical blade and swung several sonicbooms at the now auraless Bass, who roared in pain.

"Something's... not right... with Bass." said Lan. "BigWave, download!"

Bass dodged the energy wave, still looking at MegaMan.

"Mega Buster!"

MegaMan fired a few charged buster shots at Bass, but he didn't even wince as he headed straight to MegaMan, charging his fist.

"DARKNESS OVERLOAD!"

"MEGAMAN!"

Just as the darkness was about to envelop MegaMan, multiple ice towers stopped him in his tracks.

"Blizzard!"

"Tory!"

"IceMan and I saw you guys during our trip to the Netopian Castle. We figured that you might need some help." said Tory, connecting his intercom to Lan's P.E.T. "Ready, IceMan? Black Hole battlechip, download!"

"Cannonball, download!" shouted Dex.

"AquaUp3, download!" shouted Mayl.

"AirHoc3, download!" shouted Tory.

"Z-Saber, download!" shouted Chaud.

"Quake3, download!" shouted Lan.

"Yo-yo3, double download." said Dave, very calmly.

Bass tried to dodge these attacks, but was struck hard by the yo-yos, the hockey puck, and the aqua towers. Worse, he could not regenerate his aura – the black hole had distorted his programming temporarily.

"DjangoSP, download!"

With the hot pile of sunlight hitting him, Bass was left with absolutely no choice but to warp away, muttering under his breath.

"He is seeking easier targets to battle. This has never occurred before. Surely something is troubling Bass greatly." said Dave.

"Ok, Mr. Famous and _papa_ are already analysing the battle data. Everyone, log out now?" asked Lan.

All the Navis nodded.

_MEGAMAN.EXE LOGGING OUT_

_PROTOMAN.EXE LOGGING OUT_

_QUICKMAN.EXE LOGGING OUT_

ROLL.EXE LOGGING OUT 

_GUTSMAN.EXE LOGGING OUT_

"IceMan, jack out?"

"Sure."

"Roger that!"

ICEMAN.EXE LOGGING OUT 

"Ring, let's go! You coming, Kai? Turbo?"

_RING.EXE LOGGING OUT_

_TURBOMAN.EXE LOGGING OUT_

"So, anyway, how did our top-secret NetSavior go?" asked Lan, visibly curious.

"He did very well – performed very well indeed. Also, Lan, everyone, if you wish to refer to our top secret NetSavior, just refer to him as 'J'."

"Ok," replied Lan. "Want to go back home now, MegaMan?"

* * *

Well, the Netsaviors and Officials definitely did a fine job around the world. I don't think I really did much worse myself... _Façade, watch out! Behind you!_

"VariableSword, download!" Façade rapidly performed three sonic booms, which were boosted up by the Double-ColourPoint I gave him earlier. In a flash the rest of the Swordys were gone.

Uh-oh. An official. I don't want to do any tedious explanations or whatever– after reprogramming Façade slightly and reading that manual, I'm sooo tired now.

"Invis3, download!"

Okay, let's get away, because the effect'll fade eventually.

_FAÇADE.EXE LOGGING OUT_

"So, James, you know what'll happen to me after your 'real' I.D. is revealed? I mean, sometime a disaster will strike here, and you'll need to... y'know..."

Nah, don't sweat about it man. I'm your friend, y'know, and I'll make sure you get a REALLY good NetOp in case that ever happens.

"Okay, then. Sure. Huh? James! You got mail!"

Hmmm.

_Dear Son_

_I'm in an unexpected conference with all other public servants and, in fact workers from around Canberra. Similar events are occurring in all major capital cities like Sydney, Melbourne and in fact, I heard from your mum, around the world, even! Maybe not, but I also heard from your grandparents that it's in China too. I have no idea what it is about, but you should watch the news a couple of hours later._

_Be good, ok?_

_Dad_

Ok. Now how about we get that S-License... after I eat?

1 hour later 

That frozen dinner was actually pretty good! Now, where _is_ my PET... Oh wait, I already jacked him in the computer. Okay Façade, another go on the S-Slider and we're off? Ok?

"Hang on! I've nearly perfected this cool technique... Damn. This won't work. All right. I'll get back into the Government Centre."

Back to the License Area...

"To receive the S License, you must defeat 10 batches of viruses in a row."

That's it?

"That's it."

Sounds easy enough.

"I will replenish your HP before and after the problem. Are you ready?"

Let's go! Now what do we have here? ... Mettaur3s. Let's try this.

"MtlGear2, download! LavaCan2, download!

There they go. Okay, there's Elespheres/hornets and Killy's... Oh, and there's a Sparkler.

"Rockcube, triple download! PlantManV3, download!"

This is a _lot_ harder than the previous challenge! Flappys, Rattys, Slimeys of all kinds... even a Totum! And a Metrod!

"JunkMan, download! Navi+40, download! Navi+20, download!"

Same strategy used last time – ok, they're gone. A trio of Yarts! Uh-oh – now this is bad. _Very_ bad.

"Stonebod, download!"

That'll hold 'em off for a moment.

"ProtoMan, download! SideGun, download!"

Now the last bit – Shit! Façade doesn't have much HP left! Ah! That'll 'save' me. For now.

"Barrier, download! AquaAura, download! Roll, download! Program Advance: Lifesaver!"

It's weak, but that buys me some time. Well, let's look for some good combos – Here's one!

"Fan, download! CustSwrd, download!"

Wait until it nearly fills upppppppp... NOW! Yay! They're all deleted!

"Congratulations! Here is your S License!"

Ok... Now to find that 'ArmyData' or whatever... Brrrr! It's in the UnderNet! Let's watch the news instead. What is it on?

"James, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" piped up Façade.

Well, at least I'll know what the public sees and thinks.

"In breaking news tonight, there have been reports from the NetSavior's Headquarters in Electopia that a top-secret 'final and strongest' NetSavior has been elected a few days ago. Only specially handpicked SciLab Officials by Dr. Yuuichiro Hikari and Mr. Mejin Famous have been allowed knowledge, including, ironically enough, the Former World Three, who are now reportedly running a successful curry restaurant business. Rumours have been circulating that he – or she – is in either Netopia or Yumland. This is TEN-AND-ONE-TENTH News."

Well, that wasn't too bad, although the curry restaurant bit might alert some more suspicious types of people. Anyway, Façade, you ready to get the 'ArmyData' and go after the SS license?

"Sure! C'mon! Let's go! Gogogo!"

Okay, okay, calm down already!

"Jack in, Façade! Execute!"

Okay, where's the nearest link to the UnderNet? Via the secret link to SciLab I created this arvo, of course. Now to UnderKoto... UnderNet 3.

Brrr... What kind of a place is this?

"Hey kiddo. What'cha doing here? Get back to the surface unless you want to be deleted by... THE BLACK SHADOW! RRAAAHHHH!"

Okay. These guys are scary. That also must have been a reference to that 'Bass' character that was here earlier.

Man, this is scary.

"Hey! Pick on guys on your own size, bitch!" Ah. He's that undercover Navi Mr. Match happened to mention. Let's get to a safer spot, now.

"You wanna fight it out?"

"BAM!"

Woah, these guys _ARE SCARY_! Let's withdraw to a corner, Façade.

"Wow... amazing... so fast... strong..."

Yeah, Façade, that's why we're training. No shit.

"Well, Crusher certainly 'crushed' him." said a shocked Façade.

"Heh. Façade. You and your operator seems to think that these Navis are scary – you'll have to get more than used to it," Crusher chuckled, rather darkly.

"By the way, I already know that you obtained the S-License – I spotted your battle from the GCHQ (Government Centre HeadQuarters). Guess Dr. Hikari is really good at spotting great talent like yourself."

Haven't heard compliments like that for awhile. Not that I've needed any to keep me going, anyway.

"So, you were the 'unwilling' force in a net mafia but is now a secret agent working in a bakery?" I said.

"Yeah, that's it." said Riki, his NetOp, who was this 'tough' guy who, deep inside, was a total softie... And I thought people like that were only in books and stuff!

"You won't need to go to the WWW Area 1 to get the ArmyData – anyway, I wouldn't recommend it."

"Why not? Is it because of Ba-"

"Yeah. Try not to say his name either."

Ugh. He must be _really_ bad.

"Here. Take this."

Yay! The 'ArmyData'! Now that we've got it, let's get the SS License!

"By the way, have you heard about a reverse-engineering operating competition that's going to held in a few weeks? I heard they're using the most recently disused one, 'Doors IXP'."

Yeah, sure, why not! Haven't been to a comp like that in ages!

"I guess... I'll see you later then."

"Okay. Façade, I'll jack you out, then jack you back in."

CRUSHER.EXE LOGGING OUT 

_FAÇADE.EXE LOGGING OUT_

"Jack in, Façade! Execute!"

* * *

"Mr. Famous."

"Yes, what is it?"

"The same Navi that 'J' defeated – he is in Swapopolis, ravaging the Net over there. Tora is investigating this, with the help of Chaud and some others."

"Make sure that nothing happens over there. The world's been already ravaged by Nebula – we don't want anything happening again."

"Understood, Famous."

"By the way, while you're getting some dinner, can you get me some of those 'Porkiest Morsels'?"

"Ewww... Mr. Famous... they have a lot of fat... you don't want to get fat... do you?"

"So? Does it really matter?"

"That's a reasonable answer."

"Exactly."

* * *

"INSOLENT NETNAVIS!" Bass was drained of all power, and not a single virus or black navi remained in the area he was in.

"I... WILL... GET... YOU... ONCE... AND..." Bass suddenly collapsed from all the charged power inside him. In the centre of Black Earth 2, not a sound could be heard.

* * *

Well, if you can be bothered to review, please do so. 


End file.
